Electives In Nepal

In Pokhara, you can see communicable diseases including diphtheria, TB, and typhoid. In general medicine, you can learn from a team of consultants specialised in heart disease, GI systems, kidneys, joints, immune and endocrine disorders…. The list goes on. There is also a clinic for pulmonary and diabetic patients in which you can gain experience. Time in the OBG theatre allows you to see how local surgeons approach myomectomies, laparotomies and hysterectomies. Beyond all of the above, you can gain insight into much less familiar areas like leprosy rehabilitation, obscure skin conditions, rheumatic fever, and worm infestations.

In Nepal, it’s common for families to provide bedside care for patients. This is good news for you, as this results in a more clinically-focused placement. You’ll even have the chance to turn your attention towards niche areas like leprosy rehabilitation or neonatal intensive care. Another unique aspect of this placement is joining local nursing students on ward rounds to exchange skills and information. What’s more, you’ll spend time with experienced specialists from all over the country. They’ll teach you the ins and outs of delivering care in such a low-resource environment. Please note that we cater to all branches of nursing.

With increased levels of birthing complications and busy wards, there’s plenty to learn on this placement. For most midwives, delivery is only part of the job — our strong relationships with the large government hospital and a smaller private clinic give you a chance to get involved in everything from ward rounds to neonatal intensive care. The department sees an average of 30 babies born each day. Some of these births result in malpresentation, asphyxia and breech births. This means you can gain experience with problems that rarely occur in the UK, all while in a challenging low-resource setting.

In Pokhara, you’ll undertake your physiotherapy placement in a highly specialised rehabilitation hospital. You’ll quickly learn why the hospital’s motto is “we take you back to an active life”. Their overarching aim is to educate their patients, ultimately improving their quality of life. You’ll spend time with local specialists, learning how a lack of resource impacts the quality of care they’re able to deliver. In terms of cases, you’ll see things like strokes, degenerative disorders, soft tissue injuries, neuromuscular disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, spinal cord injuries, post-amputation rehabilitation, pain management, and delayed developmental milestones.

Flagging down a taxi is often a more efficient way to get to hospital than calling an ambulance. You’ll spend most of your time in A&E looking at cases as they come in as a result. That said, ambulances do come into their own when there are mass casualties resulting from major incidents. One of our partner hospitals even has a specialist ICU ambulance, one of the few existing in Nepal. In terms of cases, you’ll see everything from domestic injuries to paediatric typhoid.

By local standards, the radiography department in our partner hospital is well-equipped. It has most of the equipment needed to provide a reasonable level of care to patients. This includes X-ray machines, CT scanners and an MRI scanner. Compared to other healthcare institutions in Nepal, the services offered by this department are offered at a much more affordable rate, meaning patients from most financial backgrounds can receive care. The number of patients tends to vary, but typically there are around 20 to 30 patients for USG and CT scans, up to 100 patients for X-rays and a handful of patients for MRI scans each day.

It should come as no surprise that pharmacies in Pokhara suffer from a serious resource deficit. In spite of this, both of the dispensaries you’ll spend time in remain relatively well-stocked. They even stock certain strains of anti-venom in case of life threatening insect and snake bites. On this placement, you can help dispense medicines, shadow doctors to gain insight into patients’ medication plans, and even spend time in the hospital’s pharmacovigilance unit. This unit monitors and attempts to avert the negative effects attributed to certain drugs.

Practicing dentistry in our partner hospitals in Pokhara will forever change the way you approach your discipline. In a busy dentistry department, you can observe a variety of complex procedures like fillings, root canals, scaling, RCT, brace fitting, and cleft lip and palate surgeries. The current department head happens to be a specialist maxillofacial surgeon, so you’ll be able to tap into highly specific expertise as a result.